Need help polishing black motorcycle

I've been polishing a black Victory bike for a buddy of mine and am running into problems trying to achieve a flawless finish. The paint is completely black (no flake) and every polish and machine combo I have tried results in faint micro marring. I have tried UF, #80, and Menzerna Micro Polish on both the rotary and DA following 3M Perfect It 3000 Rubbing Compound and 3M Perfect It 3000 Swirl Mark Remover. I have adjusted speed, pass rate, and amount of polish to no avail. The Menzerna Micro Polish and #80 appear to leave a flawless finish; however these products are only filling, when I complete and IPA wipedown the micro marring returns. I have heard some horror stories about Jet Black BMW's and am assuming this paint is similarly difficult. If you guys could steer me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, I polished my buddy's helmet and got a decent 50/50 I thought I'd share.

 

Which pads are you using for the #80 and Micro Polish?

 

I used 3M black pads on the rotary. I also used these pads on the DA; however, I also tried the LC CCS blue finishing pad with this machine. I suspect the paint is super soft and is showing the finest of scratches consequent of the color.

 

My best guess is that the micro marring is left from the compound and /or the swirl remover and not from the #80 or Micro Polish. Try a green or white CCS pad on either machine with the Micro Polish and that should clean up the micro marring. The blue and black pads are for finishing and have no mechanical action(cut) whereas the green or white should give you enough cut to clean everything up. Follow up with Menz PO85rd (or you can use the #80 or Micro) on blue or black to jewel the paint to a brilliant finish and watch your buddy cry!

 

Tried the #80 and Micro Polish on the rotary and DA with a Meg's polishing pad and wasn't able to notice any improvement. I also went back and cut again with 3M Perfect It 3000 Rubbing Compound followed by Menzerna Intensive Polish and tried the above combinations again with the same result. This paint is so soft. I applied HD Cleanse followed by Z***l Titanium to see if I could fill some of the marring and this process also appeared to mar the surface. I am beginning to believe it is impossible to achieve a flawless finish on this soft of a paint; after all, I have already spent about 4 hours trying to coax the finish on a small gas tank to finish correctly.

 

Menzerna's PO 85 RD 3.01 Super Intensive Polish (F) for black or dark coloured paint surfaces, and 'soft' paint - 1200 RPM -White primary (softer less dense foam (70 PPI) with a light abrasive cutting action ) LC CCS foam pad followed by a secondary Blue finishing (very soft 100 PPI) LC CCS foam pad - 1100 RPM


For more information see article “Polishing – Menzerna Polish” DetailingWiki a series of informative, unbiased articles dedicated to automotive detailing

 

Thanks for the help guys; I managed to develop a technique which worked pretty well. I used #80 on a Meg's finishing pad with the DA and worked it in approximately 12" x 12" sections for about 30 passes ensuring all abrasives were worked to their full potential and had diminished enough to avoid micro-marring. I knew the paint had to be super soft because it was purchased brand new a few months back and was marred to hell. Here are a few pics of the results.








This is the first motorcycle I've had to detail; a good experience despite a little akwardness.

Thanks,
Brandon

 

both look good

 

WOW, That did really come out nice. good job. I'm glad that had some heavy hitters in your corner...:thumb:

 

It looks pretty good!

 

looks great! any more pics of the bike?

 

I have a few more pics I didn't include because they were kind of random.



Thanks for the kind feedback.

 

Bike turned out great!

 

OK Hi
I am a complete novice on this site. I have a black Indian Chief in desperate need of detailing. Could some-one please explain this procedure in basic English from A-Z?